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The Nadine Empire
= The Nadine Empire = -- Taken from the December 2017 Rulebook, pages 41 & 42 -- —THE WORLD IMPALED ON A THORN— Though small in comparison to the Amalgamation or the Celestine Empire, the Nadine Empire is a major player on the world stage because of its ruthless approach to politics and conquest. It is made up of several conquered city-states, all united under an Empress. Empress Nadine, ‘The Shrike,’ is said to be immortal and un-killable. She rules with cruelty and an iron fist, and it is said that she has never known defeat—simply setbacks. Her cruelty is apparent in even her appellate: a ‘Shrike’ is a bird that impales its prey upon thorns. Her soldiers are said to have no souls, to feel no pain, and to fight endlessly—for, even if they are slain, the Imperial Necromancers will bring them back to their undying feet. Of all nations, the soldiers of the Nadine Empire are the most widely feared. Within the Empire, every soldier is raised to become a perfect fighter. All children, male and female, are trained in combat. Those that show particular promise are taken from their families and given to one of the 9 Legions. The Legion becomes their new family, with their fellow soldiers becoming their brothers and sisters, soon forgetting the mothers who birthed them. The children who are not chosen for warfare, and thus not given to the legion, are allowed to remain with their families and are apprenticed into a trade. Nadine Imperial soldiers are the finest soldiers in the world. The Nadine army’s typical footman is as skilled as a knight or elite veteran of any other army, and one Imperial Soldier is expected to be victorious so long as he is not outnumbered by five or more to one. This prowess is not the result of skill alone, nor is discipline the only factor. The Imperial Army, being smaller than its peers, is able to outfit its soldiers with some of the finest weapons and armor available. These soldiers also utilize their fearsome reputation to full effect: very rarely will an army stand against them, without at least a portion fleeing before the first arrow is loosed. Imperial soldiers are also led by excellent tacticians who are unconstrained by morality and will gladly use poisons, disease, blackmail, dark magic, and any other tool at their disposal to turn the tide of battle in their favor. They recognize the value of their trained soldiers, too, such that their forces are often accompanied by wagons of corpses, which their necromancers will animate and send as the first waves of an assault to weaken an enemy before sending in living warriors. These corpses can also spread disease and help break the fragile morale of the inevitably terrified enemy. Life within the Empire is hard. Morality is viewed as a weakness to be exploited, and people who are not soldiers are second- class citizens. It is not uncommon to see dead bodies lying in the street: whether it is due to murder or suicide, the death rate is very high in the Shrike’s lands, and citizens are not expected to live to old age (nor, for that matter, does Nadine culture give any respect to the elderly). Soldiers who disobey an order, fail a commanding officer, or otherwise bring opprobrium on themselves are cast out of the military and often killed, tortured and killed, or sent to the arenas to become gladiators. Indeed, most nations across the Expanse compete against one another in gladiatorial matches. It is a way for a nation to show strength and boast of its skill at arms without actually going to war. In the Nadine Empire, it is for this purely practical reason that a disgraced soldier can be allowed to live at all. Other types of criminals may also find themselves in the arenas, but few can stand against even a disgraced Imperial Legionnaire. The Nadine Empire is indifferent when it comes to religion or race. For the leaders of this nation, nothing matters but how useful it is and how it can be exploited. The Nadine Empire lies to the southeast of the Amalgamation, and it is one of the few forces that dares to invade the Amalgamation on a periodic and successful rate—but the Nadine rarely decide to hold any ground they take. Instead, they choose to destroy nearby Amalgamation settlements, creating a no-man’s land that it is dangerous for anyone to travel across. POLITICAL OVERVIEW: THE NADINE EMPIRE Government Type: Feudal Tyrannical Autocracy Allies: None Enemies: All other nations Welcomed Bloodlines: Human Persecuted Bloodlines: None Crimes: None, technically—in the Empire, “might makes right” National Religion: The Blood Cauldron (a system that worships the Shrike as a goddess) EXAMPLE CHARACTER NAMES: MALE: Adanor, Darinus, Merrinar, Sethrian, Thossos, Vostro FEMALE: Armanthia, Asrae, Celisse, Meliandroth, Sephiira, Talessa Names and surnames draw inspiration from no particular out-of-game culture. Some example surnames are: Avencorth, Darien, and Gaethiver. Powerful Nadine * Lady Amarantha Invictus * Sekril Uhsolin * Azeal * Thorros * Edward Marastine